Being Human
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Takes place between the two Equestria Girls movies. In the human world, Sunset Shimmer ponders on the lives she's led as both a pony and a human, and how easily she adjusted to the latter. But it's lonely sometimes, being the only animal-turned-human. Or at least, she thought she was the only one...


**My Little Pony/Sailor Moon**

**Being Human**

**By Lucky_Ladybug**

**Notes: The characters aren't mine and the story is! I've long wanted to do a piece with Sunset Shimmer pondering on the dual lives she's led. Somehow, my recent rekindling of interest in The Amazon Trio from **_**Sailor Moon**_** inspired me both to actually write it and to have Sunset meet the Trio. After all, they have a very interesting thing in common. And I'm following the Japanese version of **_**Sailor Moon**_**, so Fisheye is a guy.**

Sunset Shimmer sat in the friendly café, slowly drinking a strawberry milkshake as she pondered.

She had been in this world for several years now, growing more and more familiar with it and its inhabitants. But she had been curious and interested and even fairly comfortable from the start.

That seemed rather strange to her, since she hadn't even been born human.

She had been so driven by her goals that at first she hadn't really thought about it. But after Twilight Sparkle and the others had humbled her, and Twilight had encouraged the others to show friendship to her, she had started pondering a lot.

There were supposed to be counterparts of all the Ponies in this world. Twilight herself had one. Yet Sunset did not seem to. Or at least if she did, that person had never shown up here wanting to claim her place.

Sunset worried about it sometimes. What if that happened someday and she would be told that she would have to go back to the Pony world because that was where she belonged?

The Ponies weren't her friends. Well, except for Twilight. They might have the same names and personalities, but they wouldn't know her and she wouldn't know them. It was their human counterparts whom Sunset considered her friends.

And not only that, but despite the fact that Sunset could adapt to being a Pony again if she had to, she honestly preferred being human. She loved this world, now that she wasn't caught up in thoughts of conquering both it and Equestria. Really, if given the choice, she would choose to stay here all of her life.

Sometimes it amused her, how easily she had adapted to the human world while Twilight had struggled. But it made her occasionally lonely as well.

She truly was one of a kind here, wasn't she? No one else could know what it was like to have lived as an animal before becoming human. No one other than her new friends would even believe it was possible. Who would? It sounded preposterous, especially in this world of skepticism.

One interesting difference about Equestria was that in general, it was a more open-minded place. Maybe that was at least partially why Sunset had adjusted so easily to being human and even liked it.

Then again, she was sure that most Ponies wouldn't like it, even if they had to deal with it. Most would probably react like Twilight, or even be more vehement against it than she had been. And, Sunset mused, she was pretty sure most humans wouldn't like trying to live as Ponies, either. Each species was quite happy being what it had been born to be. And here Sunset was so different in that respect.

A series of slightly arguing voices suddenly drew her attention and she looked up from her milkshake, wanting to see the culprits. They sounded like a strange bunch.

"Fisheye, do you always have to make such a big scene? Everyone was looking!"

"But the ticket-taker was so cute! And it's not as if you and Hawk's-Eye don't make just as big of scenes when you see people you like."

"There's the added issue about you cross-dressing. As soon as anyone realizes you're not really a woman, you've made quite a splash."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. _Fisheye? Hawk's-Eye?_ What kind of names were those?

The people who matched them were just as odd as their conversation. The one who had started the scolding was the tallest, with golden hair and a casual blazer. The one who had picked it up talking about cross-dressing was quieter and stranger, sporting spiked pink hair, a sleeveless midriff shirt, and jeans. And that left the third member of the group, with aqua hair tied in a fluffy ponytail and dressed in a blouse and skirt with a purse and high-heels.

Sunset had to smirk. Yeah. These people were _characters._

"Excuse me, Miss. Would you know where the Fragmented Triangle company building is?"

She started. The one with the golden hair was speaking to _her._ And from his smooth expression, she had the feeling he was trying to pick her up as well as to ask a question. Well, she could play that game too. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smirked, leaning on the counter.

"It's downtown," she answered. "You can't miss it, really; it has a logo of a triangle in pieces on the roof."

"That sounds easy enough to find," Hawk's-Eye broke in.

The one with the golden hair nodded, looking thoughtful. "Would you mind showing us anyway?" he asked. "We're all new in town and we've never been here before."

Sunset just kept smirking at him. "It's like your friend said, it's easy to find. You won't have any trouble."

"Tiger's-Eye!" Fisheye whined, grabbing his arm. "Let's just go. We're going to be late."

Tiger's-Eye looked stricken to have been shot down so nonchalantly. Sunset had to laugh to herself. Did he really think he was all that, hitting on someone at least ten years younger than himself?

"Those are interesting names," she commented, looking from one to another. "Nicknames?"

"Something like that," Hawk's-Eye abruptly inserted, clearly not wanting to discuss the matter.

"And what is your name?" Tiger's-Eye rejoined, still desperately trying to get somewhere with the girl. "Such a beautiful girl must have a name to match."

Sunset was amused. "How about you guess my name?" she said. "If you get it right, _maybe_ I'll take you and your friends to the Fragmented Triangle building. But if you get it wrong, no deal."

"That's ridiculous," Hawk's-Eye objected.

Fisheye gave a firm nod. "She's trying to hustle you," he insisted. "We don't have time for your silly games!"

"I don't, either," said Sunset. "So you only get three guesses."

Tiger's-Eye's brow furrowed in surprise and aggravation. But not one to concede defeat, he studied Sunset in thoughtful determination. "Your hair is very striking," he said. "I could easily imagine your name having something to do with that."

"Oh?" Sunset smiled, again brushing a titian lock over her shoulder. "But I wouldn't have had it as a baby."

"Some hu-babies are born with a great deal of hair," Tiger's-Eye said airily. Hawk's-Eye and Fisheye glowered at him, as if scolding him for the strange slip he had just made.

Sunset was immediately curious. "What were you really going to say?" she asked.

"Er . . . I said what I meant to say," Tiger's-Eye defended.

"Human babies?" Sunset countered. She finished her milkshake and got up from the counter, her eyes gleaming. "That makes it sound like you're _not_ human."

Was it possible? Had she actually found others like herself? It seemed so unreal, and yet . . .

"I am human," Tiger's-Eye insisted. "What would I be if I'm not?"

"A tiger, maybe?" Sunset shrugged.

"How did you know?" Fisheye blinked.

Hawk's-Eye slapped his forehead. "This is all nonsense," he barked. "Animals can't become human. Everyone knows that."

Sunset had to smirk. "Oh, they do, huh?" She headed for the door, saying over her shoulder, "I know most people would think you were crazy, but you don't have to worry about that from me."

She hesitated. Should she reveal the truth about herself? She could be wrong about them. But if she wasn't, they were clearly reluctant to make the first move, which was understandable. And if she revealed her origins and they didn't believe her, they would only think her crazy. She didn't really care if strangers thought she was crazy.

"Why wouldn't we have to worry?" Tiger's-Eye said now, suspiciously.

Sunset quickly made her decision. "Because I was a pony."

That got their attention. "A . . . pony?" Tiger's-Eye said, his voice and face wreathed in doubt.

"There's no need to make fun," Hawk's-Eye said. "Let's just drop the whole thing."

Sunset glanced over her shoulder. "You're not even curious?"

It took Tiger's-Eye all of a moment to make up his mind. "I am!" he exclaimed.

"Tiger's-Eye!" Fisheye hissed. "If she's serious, she must be crazy!"

Sunset might have laughed out loud if she were accustomed to that. Instead she just waited, amused, and smirked to herself as Tiger's-Eye caught up.

"_Are_ you serious?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I come from a land parallel to this one. The highest forms of intelligence in my world are equines, just like here it's humans."

"So why did you come here?" Fisheye wondered, suddenly popping up from behind her. "I mean, if you already were the highest form of intelligence there, didn't you have beautiful dreams?"

Sunset was a bit surprised by the odd question. "I had dreams, sure," she said. "I don't know that they were very beautiful. And I came here because I thought it would lead me to the fulfillment of those dreams. I didn't even know what I'd find in this land, but I ended up human as soon as I crossed over. I liked it and I decided to stay. But it's only really been in the past few months that any dreams of mine have been anything that could be called . . . 'beautiful'?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"We used to work for the Dead Moon Circus in Japan," Fisheye offered. "We were turned human to help them look for the Pegasus with the golden horn."

"Fisheye!" Hawk's-Eye exclaimed.

"Well, why not?" Fisheye retorted. "She's sharing her story!"

Sunset just looked amused. "Did you ever find it?"

"We . . . found it," Tiger's-Eye said slowly. "He was actually the one who allowed us to remain human instead of reverting back to being animals."

"And he gave us beautiful dreams!" Fisheye exclaimed. "It was because we helped Sailor Moon, I think. And because we care about each other and wanted to be human so we'd all be happy."

Sunset was skeptical at best. "How could anyone 'give' you dreams?" she wondered. "It seems more likely to me that you just got them when you became human, not that this Pegasus deliberately made dreams for you." She paused. "And if any of you desired dreams before the Pegasus made you human for good, the desire is in itself a form of a dream."

Fisheye paused, blinking. "I never thought of it like that." He snapped to, remembering something. "But Tiger's-Eye didn't have a Dream Mirror when I experimented with him!"

"Dream Mirror?" Sunset still looked a bit incredulous. "What's that?"

"You can look into it and see people's beautiful dreams!" Fisheye said enthusiastically.

Sunset frowned. "Someone's dreams should be private, unless they want to share them."

"You're right," Hawk's-Eye said, finally giving up and joining the conversation since his companions had already revealed so much. "We don't do that sort of thing anymore."

"The Dead Moon Circus didn't even want us around," Tiger's-Eye said. "They sent an assassin to kill us. They've been destroyed now, but the last they knew, they thought we were dead."

"Pegasus let us hide in his forest until the Circus was gone and it was safe to come out again and start learning how to lead normal lives," Fisheye said.

"And how have you been doing with that?" Sunset wondered, honestly interested. "Was it ever hard for you to adjust to being human after not having been born that way?"

"Not really," Hawk's-Eye said. "When we were made human by the Dead Moon Circus, our previous memories were erased. We didn't remember we were really animals."

"When Pegasus made us permanently human, we got those memories back," Tiger's-Eye said, "but most of them weren't anything that special. We didn't have any goals beyond eating, staking out our territory . . ." He brushed his hair aside with a smirk. "And mating."

Sunset smirked too. "I'd say you still have that last goal in mind."

"I can't deny that," Tiger's-Eye said, while Fisheye rolled his eyes.

"What about you?" Hawk's-Eye asked suddenly, looking to Sunset. "Has it been easy for you to adjust to being a human?"

"Very," Sunset replied. "Life was alright as a pony, especially since I could use magic to hold things or do other tasks that aren't always easy for ponies without magic, but I've found a lot more options open to me as a human." She paused. "But it gets lonely sometimes, when there's no one who can relate."

"Hmm. Yes, we haven't encountered very many animals turned human, either," Hawk's-Eye said, folding his arms.

"What do you mean? We haven't encountered any others!" Fisheye retorted. "Although we heard about that duck girl in Germany. . . ."

"Duck girl? That's a new one on me," Sunset said.

"It's some strange story about a girl who lives in a town where some people can write things into being," Hawk's-Eye said. "She was born a duck, but was written into being a human. I don't know whether I believe it or not."

Sunset was amused. "After everything you've been through, you can still have doubts about the truthfulness of something else unusual?"

"Well, we don't want to blindly believe everything that comes along," Hawk's-Eye replied. "Then we'd get taken in by every kind of scam imaginable."

"I guess." Sunset studied him. "Do you believe my story?"

Hawk's-Eye frowned. "I don't have any real reason to disbelieve it, but I don't know why you'd tell it to strangers."

"You did the same thing," Sunset pointed out.

"Do you have any way to prove you're telling the truth?" Hawk's-Eye wondered.

"No," Sunset said smoothly. "Do you?"

"Not really," Fisheye admitted. "So I guess we all have to take it on faith and trust."

"Exactly." Sunset spoke calmly, unconcerned.

"I wonder if we were meant to be humans, really," Fisheye mused. "Since first we were turned human by the Dead Moon Circus and then Pegasus let us stay human when we did something good and being human was our desire . . . our dream."

Sunset blinked. That was something she had not considered, about them or herself. "Meant to be?" She folded her arms. "Then why were we born as animals?"

"Who knows," Tiger's-Eye shrugged. "But we like it better as humans, and you say you do too."

"That's true. . . ." Sunset fell silent, thinking about that.

If it possibly _was_ true that she was meant to be human, surely she wouldn't someday be booted out of this world and told she had to go back. Sunset had seen the Twilight Sparkle in this world, but what if there wasn't another her, as she had feared there was? What if she was the only Sunset Shimmer in either world and her place was here, not there?

She smiled to herself. It was a nice thought.

"You know, I never did get your name," Tiger's-Eye suddenly realized.

She regarded him in amusement. "You were supposed to guess. That's how this whole thing started—you tried to pick me up, I offered to take you to the company building if you could guess my name, and you made a slip-up revealing that you're not originally human."

"Oh," Tiger's-Eye remembered, frowning. "That's right."

"But I don't want to play that game now," Sunset told him. "I'll take you to the company building anyway." She held out her hand. "My name is Sunset Shimmer."

Tiger's-Eye took her hand and shook it. "Sunset Shimmer," he repeated. "It suits you."

She smirked, still not about to be taken in by his charms. "They all say that," she said, looking him in the eyes.


End file.
